Highland is 1-9 against West Mesa since March of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The Hornets will look to defend their home field against the Mustangs at 4:00 p.m. After the two teams made easy work of their previous opponents, one won't be so lucky on Tuesday.
Highland is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They put the hurt on Gallup with a sharp 15-4 win on Friday. With that victory, the Hornets brought their scoring average up to 6.2 runs per game.
Miguel Leyba was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing five innings while giving up just two earned (and two unearned) runs off four hits. Leyba was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in two of his four plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI. He is becoming a predictor of Highland's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 0-8 when he doesn't).
Bryce Mangum
| 03/20/26 @ Gallup | 2 |
| 03/11/26 vs Manzano | 2 |
| 03/07/26 @ Socorro | 2 |
| 03/20/26 @ Gallup | 1 |
In other batting news, Bryce Mangum and Zay Trujillo did most of the damage at the plate: Mangum went 3-for-4 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs, while Trujillo went 2-for-3 with four stolen bases, three runs, and one RBI. Mangum has become a key player for Highland: the team is 2-1 when he posts at least two runs, but 1-7 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Davi Shima, who went 1-for-3 with one home run, three runs, and one stolen base.
Meanwhile, West Mesa can bid farewell to their six-game losing streak thanks to their game on Saturday. Everything went their way against Manzano as they made off with an 18-8 win. With that victory, the Mustangs brought their scoring average up to 6.3 runs per game.
Gael Vazquez was incredible, firing off two home runs and nine RBI while going 2-for-3. The team also got some help courtesy of Scott Wilson, who got on base in all five of his plate appearances with three RBI and one double.
West Mesa always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .605. The last time their OBP was this high was back in March of 2025.
Highland's win bumped their record up to 3-8. As for West Mesa, their victory bumped their record up to 5-10.
Highland might still be hurting after the 11-4 defeat they got from West Mesa in their previous matchup back in February. Will the Hornets have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.
